


Durin's Folk

by Lalaith_Quetzalli



Series: Reweaving Fate Through Destiny [4]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Durin Family, F/M, Feels, Interspecies Relationship(s), Kith and Kin, Loyalty, M/M, Post-Battle of Five Armies, Rebuilding Erebor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 11:33:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3132878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalaith_Quetzalli/pseuds/Lalaith_Quetzalli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're kin. Kin ought to stand together. And they will, as soon as he understands what's happened to his. </p>
<p>Or, Dáin learning a few home truths about Thorin's Company and one Royal Consort: Bilbo Baggins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Durin's Folk

**Author's Note:**

> At first I had no idea how to begin this chapter, though I knew what I wanted to achieve. It worked well enough, I think. 
> 
> Just to warn you, there's not much romance here, but I thought it was important for some things to become known so, here it is.

**Durin's Folk**

The first time Daín Ironfoot, Lord of Iron Hill, met the Royal Consort of Erebor, the halfling Bilbo Baggins, was not under the best circumstances. A lot had happened in the last few days: from receiving a message from a raven (after so many years of such a thing happening!) learning that the dragon Smaug was dead and his cousin was King of the Mountain; then finding out that his kin was under siege by men from Esgaroth (or what remained of the old realm of men) and elves from the former Greenwood. He arrived then, followed by five hundred of his best warriors; yet instead of battling men and elves he ended up allying with them to fight against an army at least twice as big as their (unexpectedly) allied ones, formed by orcs, goblins and wargs (foul beasts the lot of them!).

The aftermath of the battle was no better than its start: with Thorin being more than a little erratic (in his eyes), the man seemed to have time for no one but those who'd traveled with him, and the odd creature that looked nothing like a dwarf yet followed him everywhere; and all the dwarrows to have traveled with him had ascended to high nobles, Thorin's chosen council. Fili, son of Vili was dead, had been killed in Ravenhill, by the Pale Orc; Kili was badly hurt and rumors were going around that it was thanks to an elf that he'd survived at all! And, of course, there was that odd auburn-haired she-elf that stayed even when most of Thranduil's kith were gone.

The first thing Daín ever heard about the halfling was that the creature was a traitor. Had handed the Arkenstone, the very heart of the mountain, of their kingdom, to a man of Dale to be used a bartering tool! The second thing was that he was the reason men and elves had allied with the dwarrows rather than attacking them... the reason why they'd been able to fight all together and win against the combined might of Gundabad and Dol Guldur. There had been other things, like the fact that he'd been in the battle (which was absolutely ridiculous, the halfling was so small it would have been trampled on from the very start), that he'd actually gone to Ravenhill to save Thorin and his nephews, and succeeded with two of the three (which was even more ridiculous); that Thorin held him in the highest regard... and then Thorin was officially crowned, as King Under the Mountain, and he announced Bilbo Baggins as his Royal Consort; his nephew, the odd elf, Gandalf and a number of other members of his company supporting the story that they were lifemates already, pledged to each other through rites supposedly older than Arda itself.

So, Daín had more than enough reasons to be suspicious and more than a little worried about what exactly was going on in the Lonely Mountain. How Thorin had set out in a supposedly-impossible quest and ended up as he was in that moment. He wanted nothing more than to meet with both his cousin and his so-called Consort and ask for (demand) explanations. However, they'd all been so busy trying to clear enough space inside the mountain to allow not only for the dwarves but also the men to find refuge before the worst snow-storms began (and that was yet another thing he didn't understand, who cared what happened to the men?); there had been no chance for them to meet.

He'd been waiting for days to get a chance and talk. Still, their first meeting probably could have gone much (much) better. He'd been hearing the whispers all morning, about the she-elf that was walking around with a clan braid and a betrothal one too! It had to be a misunderstanding surely, no one from the line of Durin could be that crazy to offer themselves to a tree-hugger! And one particular whisper seemed to imply that it was Kili, the royal heir, who had done that very thing. Once again, it worried Daín, so much had happened, was happening already; he wanted to clarify some things before the whispers got too far, or worse (he didn't want to imagine what would happen if at least one of the whispers happened to be true and the elf really had Thorin's bead on her clan plait, what his cousin might do if he heard some foolish dwarrow talking bad about her). He was just a tad too late to stop things from happening... and they were more than a little bit worse than he could have ever imagined possible (the only saving grace was probably that Thorin wasn't present for any of it).

First he heard a thump, the echo of an impact of flesh on flesh, someone had been punched. The Lord of the Iron Hills rounded a corner just in time to see a dwarf (presumably the one who'd been punched), jump back onto his feet, yelling in khuzdul at a figure smaller than any other dwarf (the Consort), only to find himself abruptly facing the pointy end of a blade. Most dwarves would have dismissed it as little more than a 'letter opener' but more than one warrior had spoken of the blood that blade had spilled: orc, warg and even of spiders.

"Step away halfling." The dwarrow (whom Daín belatedly recognized as Hao, his own distant kin) snarled at the hobbit. "I wasn't speaking to you."

"No, because truth is, you weren't speaking you were screeching." The halfling deadpanned, with no fear whatsoever of the enraged dwarf before him. "You had the gall to insult your betters."

"That brat..." Hao began, angrily.

"That brat, as you dare call him, is Kili, son of Vili, from the line of Durin, prince of Erebor and future King Under the Mountain." The halfling enlisted in a hiss. "He's traveled across Arda, fighting against trolls, orcs, goblins, wargs and spiders. This brat, as you refer to him, is more of a warrior than you'll ever be. You owe him respect. For this is his home, not yours. Here you're but a guest, nothing more." He made a pause before adding. "You must also know that if you ever dare to insult him, or anyone else again. No one here stands alone, we're a company, we're kith, and as good as kin. You insult one of us, you insult all of us."

"I believe you've gotten your point across." Daín called right then.

Really, there was no need to berate the poor dwarrow so much! Besides, being one of his own men, it was only right for Daín to speak up for him.

"I seriously doubt it." Someone in the group snorted.

"You're taking things too personally..." Daín began.

"Like I believe should be obvious already, this is personal." The halfling stated formally. "If anything, I believe you aren't giving the matter the seriousness it deserves, Lord Ironfoot."

"Excuse me?" Daín didn't understand. "All the dwarrow did was call Kili a brat."

"Oh but he did much more!" It was the she-elf then, speaking up.

"Should you be involving yourself in this matter, m'lady?" Daín didn't mean to sound condescending, but at that point he just didn't seem able to stop himself.

"It's because I've been respectful of you and your own that I haven't spoken up before now." She said seriously. "Despite the fact that I should have, that it was my intended being insulted. I know how you dwarves are when it comes to pride, so I held my tongue, perhaps longer than I ought to. But no more. I am under the protection of King Thorin Oakenshield, and betrothed to Prince Kili, you and yours shall not be insulting him in my presence again."

Daín actually bit his tongue at that, so at least some of the rumors were true? And he could see it right then, the plaits behind the she-elf's ears, and the beads on them; there was also a new plait on the young dwarrow's own hair.

"Just what could Hao have said to make you react like that?" Daín asked, confused.

Kili muttered something under his breath, but Daín couldn't hear; yet whatever it was, made half of the 'Company' (as most had taken to calling them) unsheathe their blades, while the Royal Consort pressed his own closer to the dwarf to have insulted Kili.

"How dare you?!" Several cried out in fury.

"For someone, anyone, to so much as imply that the wrong brother died..." The halfling muttered with barely controlled fury (and slowly the lord began to think that maybe the stories weren't as outlandish as it may have seemed at first). "I could cut you open from nose to navel in a second. And I would be in my right, for you've insulted not only the prince of Erebor, but my own kin. And even then, that would be a kinder fate that what Thorin might yet do to you for daring to say such heresy." He took a deep breath, as if to control himself better, though still not lowering his blade. "Always the mere suggestion of wishing someone dead would be an insult, but to say something like that in these circumstances? That is beyond unforgivable. For you weren't there, none of you were. You know not what happened, how Fili died, or how close Kili came to dying himself as well... Yet you dare speak without thinking, wishing death and life, as if such were in your power to wish for and change." He snorted. "Absolutely ridiculous. What's more, you give great offense to one who is already mourning. And for what? His choice in partner? What does it matter if Tauriel is a she-elf, a dwarf, or something else entirely? She's still far more deserving of respect than many, including you, right now."

"A prince from the line of Durin cannot possibly mate with a tree-hugger!" Hao snapped in harsh khuzdul, refusing to back down.

Another of the dwarves from the Company smacked the dwarf on the side with the flat of his blade abruptly.

"Speak Westron!" He ordered.

"Why should I?" Daín's kin demanded. "Outsiders do not belong in this mountain, and it's time they understood it!"

"It matters not." The halfling said calmly. "The matter remains the same. Insult has been dealt, and an apology must be issued."

"What?!" Several voices called out.

"Never." Hao snarled yet again. "I have every right to my own opinions. And to voicing them. And it's not like I said things others weren't thinking already, I'm just the only one with the guts to say them out-loud..."

"Or the only one stupid enough..." The youngest from the Company murmured with a snort.

"Come on everyone." Daín tried to diffuse the situation, not realizing he was only making it worse. "Tempers are running a bit high at the moment. But everyone has been known to speak without thinking before. No ill will was meant."

"One cannot wish death upon someone and then dismiss it as nothing more than a joke." Glóin (one dwarrow Daín did recognize instantly) said. "If the lad has, as he claims, enough guts to say the words, he must also have enough to own up to it, and the consequences of saying such things. He wished our prince dead. That is treason of the highest order!"

"They're just words!" Another dwarf from the Iron Hills, who looked to be close to the one to insult the prince. "It's not like he's done anything, really. You have no right to accuse my cousin of something as grave as treason for mere words..."

"No right?" Tauriel cried out. "He had no right to say the things he did! And he said them anyway. Yet suddenly we're the ones with no right?!"

"The lass is right..." Several murmured.

"I believe we should all calm down." Daín tried again. "Like I said before, I understand tempers are running a little high. Things were said, that weren't meant..."

"How would you know that?" One who looked like the oldest member of the Company currently present, challenged. "Were you here when he insulted Kili so? A Lord you might be in your Hills, Daín Ironfoot, but why should you interfere with any of this? It does not concern you."

"It does, since it is one of my own dwarrows that you are pointing your blades at." Daín pointed out. "I seek to help him because he's kith. Just like Kili and Thorin Oakenshield are my own kin. We're all allies here..."

"Really?" The halfling finally turned in his direction, arching a brow, blade still raised. "I think not. You claim to be Kili's kin, yet you keep defending the one who insulted him so viciously, his intended, as well as Fili! Mahal keep his soul. You say we're all allies here, yet you have nothing to show for it. What have you ever done to prove alliance to us in any way? What actions have you to back the words you are stating right now?"

"We came to your aid in battle!" Daín took offense to the halfling's words. "I understand you might be angry, Lord Consort, but do not make less of my people's bravery in the battle. They fought, bled and died for Thorin and his Company!"

"That is true." The hobbit conceded that. "You and yours came to our aid when the need was great. You were the heroes of the day... along with the valiant men from Laketown, the elven warriors of Mirkwood, Beorn Skin-changer and the mighty Eagles, all whom fought and died as well."

Then, just when Daín Ironfoot thought he'd managed to control things, everything changed. Bilbo Baggins finally lowered his blade, but he did not back down, instead staring straight at Daín with an intensity that speared him in place.

"You claim to be kin, to be an ally." The halfling said in a too-quiet, too-solemn tone. "Where were you then when Thorin left Ered Luin with next to nothing, searching for a way to reclaim his own home? Where were you when thirteen dwarves met in a smial in the Shire and realized that they were alone, that no other dwarrow had the guts to fight to reclaim their home? You weren't there, no. You turned your backs on him, decided that he wasn't really King, that you couldn't follow him, why? Because he didn't have a bloody stone?!" He rolled his eyes. "Where were you when the group nearly became the meal of three crazy trolls? When they were hunted across mountains and valleys by wargs and orcs and goblins? When a Thunder Battle nearly sent them off the Misty Mountains and to their deaths? When they fell into the cave of the Goblin King and were nearly tortured by him? When Azog and his army cornered them by the edge of a cliff and left them with practically nowhere to go? When the darkness in Mirkwood nearly made them lose themselves completely? Or when spiders bigger than any dwarrow almost ate them all? When King Thranduil kept them locked in cells in the Woodland Realm? Or when they had to make their escape in barrels down a river? When they needed to be smuggled into Laketown? Or when they spent the entire day searching a wall, trying to find the secret entrance into the mountain? When a dragon turned out to be awake? And most importantly, when that same dragon, Smaug the Terrible, the worst calamity of the Age, nearly killed them all?!"

Silence was his answer, and truly, no one knew what to say. It was one thing to have heard pieces of the story here and there, but to have it all pieced together like that...

"You came to defend a mountain that had already been reclaimed." Bilbo went on, more calm than before, though no less serious. "Came to stand against two armies that weren't truly our enemies, against enemies that, while a real threat, would have been so regardless of where you might have been. You were of great aid to us during the battle, that is true, and I'm not denying it. That merits congratulations indeed; your warriors were heroes one day. My dwarves were heroes for a long journey, and they still are. Every single one of them. They were brave in the face of all kinds of enemies, when the only back up was twelve other dwarves, when they didn't believe anyone else would help them. That is true bravery, true honor..."

"Loyalty, honor and a willing heart..." Several voices murmured quietly, including the halfling, voice reverent as if they were saying some great prayer.

"Your kith, has dared lay insult against one who's not only a prince, but also a warrior, a most brave dwarrow from the line of Durin and worthy heir to the throne of Erebor." The halfling added. "That is something that will be neither forgiven nor forgotten."

Seemingly deciding he'd spoken enough, the halfling touched the young dwarrow-prince's arm before saying something quietly. Daín couldn't hear, but he could see the she-elf, Tauriel, nod her agreement at whatever it was, before the two lead Kili away. The rest of the Company taking a protective formation around the three of them.

"I suggest you keep better control of your kith, my Lord Ironfoot." Glóin, at the back of said formation. harrumphed. "If a situation like this repeats itself... it won't be Bilbo dealing with it next time. And Thorin isn't as compassionate as his consort."

"You dare call your King by his given name?" A dwarf called in a mix of shock and horror.

Glóin just snorted, as far as he was concerned, they weren't getting it; neither was Daín, it would seem. And it was like Bilbo had said, they couldn't, they weren't there...

"Where was the halfling?" Someone asked unexpectedly.

"What?" The Company turned back as one (the other three stopped, but did not turn around).

"He enlisted all those events, where was he during all of it?" The dwarrow insisted.

"Right there." The youngest member of the company stated in a tone that made it sound as if it should be obvious. "Every single time. He was right in the middle of it."

"Ori is right." The oldest agreed. "It was Bilbo's home in the Shire where we came together to begin our quest. It was him who distracted the trolls long enough for dawn to come and turn them to stone (and Gandalf arriving in the right moment, but that's beside the point). He was with us as we were hunted by Azog's followers, and nearly fell to his death in the Misty Mountains. He did fall when we were in the goblin caves and it was a miracle he survived and found his way back to us. It was also him who killed the goblin who nearly beheaded Thorin on that cliff and stood face to face with Azog to protect our King. Nothing could have been done regarding the darkness and illusions in Mirkwood, but it was thanks to Bilbo that we survived the spiders, and again that we ever got out of Thranduil's cells, as he stole the keys, guided us to the cellar and got us out in those barrels, even though he nearly drowned in the process." He let out a breath. "When the rest of us had given up on hope of ever finding the secret entrance into the mountain, he didn't. He was the one who found it. And he went in, even knowing the dangers, he stood face to face with a dragon and outwitted him enough to get away with his life." And the Arkenstone, but there was no need to go into that. "And even when we tried to get him to leave, to be safe, as we faced Smaug, he refused to run, he stood with us, as one of us."

"He is one of us." Several from the Company stated almost in unison.

"They said he stole the Arkenstone!" A dwarrow called darkly. "That he gave it to the tree-shagger! As if it were a tool!"

"May Thorin never hear you say such things." A dwarrow with a funny hat stated with a shake of his head. "As mad as he would be for any insult against Kili, he will kill if anyone so much as insinuates anything untoward about Bilbo."

"Explain it to us then." Daín called. "For I cannot understand. It was never explained to us how our enemies became our allies. Or how Thorin took for Consort one whom rumors stated had been declared a traitor, even exiled."

"Those are private matters that should have never been spoken about." Glóin growled darkly. "Things that only concern our King and his One..."

There was sputtering around, at the idea of Thorin's One truly being that halfling (anyone not a dwarrow, really); but Daín wouldn't focus on that, it wasn't like he had anything against the halfling, he just wanted to understand. So much was going on, so much was changing, and he felt lost, maybe if he understood, at least some of it, things would be better.

"What would you do for love?" Ori asked suddenly, very softly.

"What?" No one was expecting that.

"It's a simple question." Ori insisted, with a quiet confidence most wouldn't expect from someone so young. "What would you do for love? For the love of your One?"

"We would all do anything for the love of our One." Several dwarrows called at the same time. "Fight, die, anything..."

"Anything?" It sounded almost like a challenge. "Even do something you know they will hate you for but is the only way to save their lives?"

No one had an answer to that, but that was alright, for Ori didn't seem to need it. He nodded, as if that were exactly the reaction he was expecting, before turning back to the Company. No one tried to stop them from leaving again.

Daín himself could only stand there, pondering over the words said. What would he do for his One? What would he do for his wife? He would do a great many things, had already, in the past. Had done anything and everything he could to make her happy, to keep her safe. He'd thought there was nothing he wouldn't do... yet he wasn't so sure anymore. For how could one decide to... to betray their One in order to save them? It was absolutely insane! Yet, apparently, that was exactly what had happened.

Things began falling into place for the Dwarven-Lord then: the halfling truly had found the Arkenstone, and had given it to the man: Bard Blackarrow, the heir of the last Lord of Dale, to use as a bartering tool with Thorin. To secure the safety of both humans and dwarves... Bilbo Baggins had sacrificed himself, his own heart, to keep Thorin Oakenshield safe. That certainly made him worthy (more than worthy) to be not only Royal Consort but (more importantly to Daín, as one of Durin's folk and Thorin's cousin), Thorin's One.

And if a halfling could be that brave, that worthy, maybe a she-elf could be as well? He decided he probably shouldn't be judging anymore. Odds were if he asked he would find out she had done some great deed herself (and he would, indeed, eventually be finding out all about the Pale Orc's offspring and the battle in which Prince Kili almost lost his life).

Daín would always regret not being there for his cousin and the rest of his Company when they went on that quest. But truth was, it hadn't been that simple (it never was). If he'd been anything other than the Lord of the Iron Hills nothing could have ever stopped him from standing by Thorin, like he'd been doing for years. Thorin was more than his cousin, was as good as his brother (at times that bond had been the only thing that kept them going after Frerin's death, Prince Frerin, Thorin's little brothêr and Dáin's dearest friend)... but Daín was the Lord of the Iron Hills, he had dwarrows who depended on him, whom he could not leave. So he had to tell Thorin no, to turn his back on him, and wait. He'd waited, practically with baited breath, for news.

Regardless what anyone might believe, Daín had absolute faith on his cousin, he always knew that Thorin could, and would reclaim Erebor (no matter the odds). It was why, when that raven arrived with the request for backup 500 dwarrows had been just ready to march; Daín had been ready for months. It was something he'd explained to Thorin the first moment they got to talk in private, and was thankful his cousin had been so understanding. He probably wouldn't remain so if he ever found out the kind of things his warriors were saying about Kili... which meant he had to deal with matters before Thorin found out.

"You!" He called authoritatively, signaling to all the dwarrows remaining.

"My lord!" They all called in unison.

"Come with me." He ordered, guiding them back to their camp. "We must talk."

He'd always believed Thorin would be King Under the Mountain; and if Thorin believed that Kili could be his heir (elven One and all), then Daín would support him, as it was supposed to be. Durin's Folk ought to stand together, always.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked this chapter. I know some people might want more romance (I myself would, to be honest), but some things really need to be established first. So that' what we're doing here. Also, it would seem I got more readers in the piece devoted to the Kiliel pairing, that with Bagginshield... it's a good thing both will be very important throughout this series. Even if, technically, Bilbo and Thorin are the main characters, the other two are of great importance in different ways and will be along for the ride. 
> 
> Just to make one thing clear, Dáin isn't meant to be bad or anything. I believe I explained the circumstances which lead him to act the way he does, and about his continued defense of the other dwarf... he believed he was protecting his kin, not fully understanding what had been said exactly, and unsure of how far the Company might be willing to go. Also, Bilbo wasn't being cruel or ungrateful, or trying to diminish the Ironhill dwarves by saying they were the heroes of one day only... he was in part trying to make them understand why their Company deserved respect, and he was being a bit harsher than entirely necessary because of how angry he was with the insult dealt at Kili. 
> 
> Next week: Dís, her arrival to Erebor, finding out what's happened to her family, her own first meetings with the new members of it, and a piece of her past not even Thorin knew of...


End file.
